St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church

СРБСКА ПРАВОСЛАВНА ЦРКВА СВ. НИКОЛЕ

5050 Harrison Street
Omaha, NE 68157-2247
Telephone: (402) 731-5583

V. Rev. Sasa Petrovic
Parish Priest

Fr. Saša Petrovic was born on January 9, 1978 in Ljig, a small town in Šumadija, in central Serbia. The son of +Milan and Mirka Petrović, Saša attended church services and took an active role in church life from an early age. Upon completing middle school in his hometown, Saša enrolled in St. Peter of Cetinje Seminary, in Montenegro (Crna Gora). He then transferred to St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Prizren, in the province of Kosovo/Metohija—a region celebrated as the cradle of the Serbian Orthodox Church and culture, but currently under occupation by foreign powers. Having graduated at the top of his class, Saša received a recommendation from the Seminary’s Dean to enroll in the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox School of Theology, Libertyville, IL, with a full scholarship.

Upon graduating from St. Sava faculty, Saša met Marija Brkovic, one of St. Sava’s first female students of Theology. Saša and Marija were married at New Gračanica Monastery, in Third Lake, IL, on March 5, 2000. In October of that year, Saša was ordained as a deacon by His Grace Bishop Longin, at St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church, in Cudahy, WI. A month later, on November 12, 2000, Fr. Saša was ordained to priesthood by Bishop Longin at St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church, in Phoenix, AZ, where he was appointed to serve as parish priest..

In Phoenix, Fr. Saša and Popadija Marija welcomed the birth of their first two children, Jovana and Pavle. While serving St. Nicholas parish, young Fr. Saša exhibited a great deal of valor and leadership by introducing order and church discipline, which resulted in the revival of church life and a significant increase in church membership. With the help of Popadija Marija, Fr. Saša organized a Sunday School, which was attended by over seventy children. Due to his father’s illness, Fr. Saša and his family returned to Serbia in 2002, where they remained for ten months in order to help care for him.

The late Metropolitan +Christopher, of blessed memory, appointed Fr. Saša to the newly opened mission parish of All Saints, in Sioux Falls, SD, in June of 2003. It was that year that their third child, Andjelija, was born. In Sioux Falls, Fr. Sasa and Popadija Marija demonstrated exceptional sacrifice and perseverance for the sake of God’s church, as it took tremendous labor and many tears in order to establish the first Serbian Orthodox Church in South Dakota among only about 40 families of newly arrived Serbian refugees. With the selfless help of St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church, in Omaha, NE, which provided the loan, the parish of All Saints purchased a beautiful property with an existing church and parish home on a two-acre lot. Soon after that, the parish of All Saints acquired the cemetery adjacent to the church property.

Upon the retirement of the late Fr. Vojislav Dosenovic, of blessed memory, Metropolitan Christopher appointed Fr. Saša to St. Nicholas Church, in Omaha, NE, on December 4, 2005, where he has continued to serve to the present day. A few months after arriving to Omaha, Fr. Saša and Popadija Marija were blessed with their fourth child, Petar.

During St. Nicholas Church’s 2015 Slava, with the blessing of Bishop Longin, His Grace Bishop Sava of Slavonija (ret.) awarded Fr. Saša and Popadija Marija with the rank of Protopresbyter and Protinica as recognition for their dedication and love for the Church.

Father Saša and his family are entirely dedicated to St. Nicholas church and are fully involved in all aspects of its community life. Father is always ready to listen to and help his parishioners in need. He is also very handy, always ready to tackle virtually any problem. When he is able to enjoy a little spare time, Fr. Saša loves to occupy himself with gardening, wood crafting, fishing, and hunting.

The parishioners of St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church, in Omaha, are truly blessed to have Fr. Saša and his young family among them, and we hope to have them for many more years to come!